neikirk



March 8, 1932. J. o. NEIKIRK CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed April 17, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 [fa/025 f: John ONei/a'r I" U X R,

March 8, 1932. J. o. NEIKIRK 1,843,901

CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed April 17, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 L/ZhnONeZZZr/Q March 8, 1932. NE|K|RK 1,848,901

CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed April 17, 1951 s Sheets-Sheet 5 controlled by the usual apparatus 17 having links attached to theinner edge of the doors by means of brackets 18. It will readily ap pear that by proper operation of the apparatus 17 the inner ends of the doors will be lowered, permitting them to swing on the hinges 16 with a consequentdischarge of the lading. When the doors are opened in this fashion,, the lading'or ballast will be discharged between the rails of the car track..

The construction of the doors .20 is more clearly shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4 and itwill be noted that each comprise aseries of spaced braces 21 which extendtransversely ,of the door. At the upper: ends of the braces, brackets 22 are fastened by means of rivets and serve to mount the hinges by which the door is supported. At theopposite edge of the door, brackets 18 are providedwhich serve as attachments for the links of the door control mechanism 17. Eachof the transverse beams 21 is preferably of inverted U-construc tion and, adjacent the lower edges thereof,

prises aback plate 26 having a lower portion secured to the intermediate longitudinal brace 24 and upper wing portions 27 in engagement with theinner walls of the transversebraces and secured thereto by means of rivets or other suitable fastenings. y

Brackets 25 are used at the ends of transverse braces 21 for connecting the transverse V braces directly to the outsidelongitudinal braces 24:. These brackets are substantially U-shaped in form having the upstanding arm slightly angular to fit the interior of the transverse braces 21 to which they are attached by suitable means such as rivets.

In the form illustrated, the intermediate longitudinal brace is of channel formation with a bulb bottom flange and the outside longitudinal brace is of z-formation and by means of the brackets 25 and 25, the longitudinal braces are attached'directly to the transverse braces to provide a strong, unitary frame for the car door- In assembling the parts in the manner described, the plate or strip of sheet material 28 is mounted between the transverse and longitudinal braces with openings 29 therethrough for accommodating thebrackets 25.

The strip of sheet material is then, secured by rivets 30 directly to the longitudinal braces.

l/Vith this construction, it will readily appear that no reliance is placed on the sheet material for maintaining the door construction intact but, rather, the sheet material is secured to the frame.

The inner longitudinal beam 24 is provided with a plurality of hinge brackets 31 to which the secondary door 32is pivoted, as at 33. Here also, the secondary door is sup ported directly on the frame without reliance on the sheet metal plate 28. The secondary door 32 may likewise comprise a plurality of transverse braces 35 and a longitudinal angle brace 36 on the outer'edge thereof.

As shown in Figure 1, the secondary doors are capable of pivotal movement independent of the door proper, which movement is controlled by the chain 37 attached to the undersurface of the doorby means of a bracket 38 and bolt 39. The mechanism for controlling the chain is of usual construction and thereforeis not illustrated in thedrawings.

The sheet material constituting the surface forthe secondary door 32 is preferably provided with upwardly bent end portions 40 for the usual purpose of. directing the flow of lading during discharge and closing the ends of the discharge openings.

An important advantage of this invention is the prevention of leakage of lading throughthe channel openings in thetransverse braces 21. Inaddition to serving as attachments for the transverse and longitudinal braces, thebrackets 25 also serve to block oifthe opening or passage which would ordinarily be provided through the channel space in the braces 21. It will be readily appreciatedthat when the secondary door. 32 is lowered, that the under-side of the channel is exposed,'which would permit leakage ofvmaterial through the channel openings if the bracket 25 were not provided. With the old type of door it wasfoundv that leakage of certain types of lading occurred through the channel openings, particularly if the secondary door was prevented from closingtightly against the lower edge of the transverse braces. v Such leakage is highly objectionable and constitutes a source of great nuisance particularlywith the type 'of' lading which will readily flow beneath the transverse edges and leak out through the channel openings.

Although this invention has been illustrated as appliedto ballast cars, it is capable of use in any similar installation where discharge doors of this-type are providedfor hoppers or other containers for'lading. 7 V

The scope of the invention will be apparent from the appended claims. i f

I'claim:

1. A door of the character described com-' prising a frame composed of a'plurality of transverse braces, one or morelongitudinal braces and brackets connecting said transverse and longitudinal braces at their points of intersection, a plate between said braces secured to said frame, said plate covering only a portion of the area of said frame and a secondary door hinged to said frame serving to cover the remaining portion of the area of said door.

3. A door of the character described comprising a' frame composed of transverse channel braces and one or more longitudinal braces, and brackets for connecting said transverse and longitudinal braces at their points of intersection, certain of said brackets having portions for interrupting the channel openings in said transverse braces.

l. A door of the character described comprising a frame composed of transverse channel braces and one or more longitudinal braces, brackets for'connecting said transverse and longitudinalbraces at their points of intersection, some of said brackets having portions for interrupting the channel openings in said transverse braces, and a sheet metal plate secured to said frame between said transverse and longitudinal braces.

5. A door of the character described comprising a frame composed of transverse channel braces and one or more longitudinal braces, brackets for connecting said transverse and longitudinal braces at their points of intersection, certain of said brackets having portions for interrupting the channel openings in said transverse braces, and a sheet metal plate secured to said frame between said transverse and longitudinal braces having openings thereinto accommodate said certain brackets.

6. A door of the character described com prising a plurality of transverse channel braces and one or more longitudinal braces, and brackets secured to said braces at their points of intersection, and a plate located between and secured to said braces covering a portion of the area of said door and enclosing a portion of the channel spaces in said transverse braces, certain of sald brackets being constructed to block the passage through said enclosed channel space.

7. A door of the character described comprising a plurality oftransverse channel braces and one. or more longitudinal braces,

and brackets secured, to said braces at their points of intersect1on,;a plate located between and secured to said braces covering a.

portion of the area. of said door andenclosconstructed to transverse braces, certain of said brackets being constructed to block the passage through said enclosed channel space, and a secondary door pivotally mounted on one of said longitudinal braces.

8. A door of the character described comprising a plurality of transverse channel braces and one or more and brackets secured to said braces at their points of intersection, a plate located between and secured to saidbraces covering a portion of the area ,of said door and enclosing a portion of the channel space in said transverse braces, certain of said brackets being 7 block the passage throughsaid enclosed channel space, and a secondary door pivotally mounted on one of said longitudinal braces and portion of the area of said door.

9. A door of the character described comarisin a frame com osed of a luralit of spaced transverse channel braces and a pair, of spaced longitudinal braces adjacent one .7 end and an intermediate portion of said transverse braces respectively,- a plate secured to said bracescovering the door area April, 1931.

JOHN O. NEIKIRK.

longitudinal braces,

covering the remaining ing a portion of the channel space in said I 

